Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Acquires 143,500 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) by 570.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 168,644 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 143,500 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $41,180,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 30.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,988 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $696,000 after buying an additional 1,178 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 38.3% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,697 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,889,000 after buying an additional 7,396 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 26.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,221 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $369,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter worth approximately $8,505,000. Finally, AXA S.A. increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 46.7% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 39,675 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,590,000 after acquiring an additional 12,639 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MPC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 29th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $321.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Friday. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $224.00 to $260.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $235.00 to $257.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Michael A. Henschen II sold 6,336 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.82, for a total transaction of $1,703,243.52. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 16,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,543,058. This trade represents a 27.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $283.60 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $256.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $222.90. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 12-month low of $158.00 and a 12-month high of $287.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.51, a PEG ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.52.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.91. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The company had revenue of $34.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.24) EPS. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 32.96 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.11%.

Marathon Petroleum Profile

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: MPC) is a U.S.-based downstream energy company engaged principally in the refining, marketing, supply and transportation of petroleum products. The company was formed through a spin-off from Marathon Oil in 2011 and operates an integrated system of refining and logistics assets that support the production and distribution of transportation fuels and other refined petroleum products.

Marathon Petroleum’s operations include refining crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt and other specialty products, as well as managing the distribution and storage infrastructure needed to move those products to market.